"Since energy exports are the mainstay of the still inefficient and lagging Russian economy, this is a penalty with teeth," he added.

Politics, or economics?

However, Edward Chow, a senior fellow at Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said any such move was unlikely to have an immediate impact.

Mr Chow said that Russian exports of natural gas were equivalent to "twice the combined capacity" of the seven US government approved liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects, which would only be completed by the end of this decade.

"Certainly increased exports of oil and gas from the US and other countries would reduce, over time, the significance of Russian exports, but none of this will happen quickly," he said.

Mr Chow argued that in order to reduce Russia's influence it was crucial that European countries developed their own gas resources.